The Winter Joys of Being Abominable

Except for the beer, bonfires, and guy in the Yeti suit, this race might remind you a little bit of the fun you had as a kid on the playground. The Abominable Snow Race is returning to Lake Geneva on January 27, 2024, and if you like unique challenges that are served up with a side of snow and ice, this just may be your event.

“This is for people who want to get out and play in the middle of winter,” said race founder Bill Wolfe. “We get the 10 percent of who are athletes going for the prize, going for the podium, but most people just want to reconnect with their inner child.”

Obstacle Course Racing (OCR)

OCR events have drawn big crowds to the upper Midwest for years. These events vary in format but typically feature a trail that leads participants through a series of challenging obstacles; Tough Mudder, Spartan, and Savage Races are well-known national brands that hold large events in Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota.

The Abominable Snow Race is a little different, for one big reason: The Season!

“There are a lot of obstacle races that take place during the spring, summer, and fall, in warmer weather,” said Dana Sabia, an experienced OCR racer. “But it adds a whole other level of challenge when you add the winter elements to it.”

Sabia and her husband, Aaron, own Race Ready Obstacles, a company that builds obstacles and training gear, and it builds some of the obstacles at the Abominable Snow Race.

“Last year we had snow on race day,” Sabia said. “It just makes it all the more challenging when you’re grabbing frozen bars or there’s ice on stuff. It’s very different.”

Traveling Yeti

The event takes place just north of the heart of Lake Geneva at Lake Geneva Ziplines & Adventures.

The race was founded in 2016 and has had several locations over the years. The race was first held in Veteran Acres Park in Crystal Lake, Illinois. It then moved to the Grand Geneva in Lake Geneva for a couple of years before it again moved to Devil’s Head Ski Resort in Baraboo. Over the last three years, it returned to Lake Geneva, at the Lake Geneva Ziplines & Adventures property.

“We love Lake Geneva,” Wolfe said. “There’s so much to do before and after the race, and the partnerships with Visit Lake Geneva and all of the businesses are just second to none. It’s really helped elevate the racer experience.”

While the zipline is not part of the event, the hilly property is ideal for the race, Wolfe said, adding, “The grounds, the trails, the terrain, and the team over at Lake Geneva Zipline & Adventure Park are great to work with. The trails are amazing, with lots of elevation. It’s just a beautiful, beautiful, course.”

Put Your Best Inner-Yeti Forward

The course is studded with 27 obstacles, each offering a different challenge, with names such as the Abominable Wall and the Polar Vortex. Participants should expect to climb, crawl, and carry, even if there’s deep snow on the ground.

“Walls, crawls, carries, cargo-net climbs, rope climbs, monkey bars — it includes all the things you would see on the playground when you were younger,” Wolfe said. “Race Ready Obstacles also gets very creative on some of our rigs.”

The obstacles are clustered around a large open basin in the property and trails connect these challenges and wind into the adjacent hilly wooded terrain. There are races of three different lengths. There’s a “short course” that covers between two and three miles, with 20 obstacles. There’s also a “standard course” that’s between five and six miles with more than 20 obstacles. “And for those who are crazy, like the yeti,” Wolfe said, “we offer a Yeti Challenge that’s 10 to 12 miles with 50 obstacles.”

While top racers will fly through the course, others aren’t as concerned with the stopwatch. “Some people throw a backpack on and hike it, and just enjoy the terrain and the weather,” Wolfe said.

Course Director Tom Abraham said that he used to be a personal trainer and he raced the first event with a team. Abraham said there’s a misconception that you need a big body-builder physique to be competitive at an obstacle race. “The lean and mean, the person who has lean muscle mass and is a long-legged runner with good core strength, that’s the real serious down-and-dirty type of runner.”

Also, Abraham said it’s important to train and prepare for the weather, which can be just about anything in January. “We tell people just get out there. You need to train your body to be ready for anything because we’ve had all that weather at the snow race. We’ve had 55-degree weather. We’ve had some sloppy snow and then some rain and ice. We’ve had snow, including nine inches on race day. Just get out there and get your mind used to the elements.”

Being the Happy Yeti

While the weather can be unpredictable at the race, you can always count on a good time at the finish line. Every racer gets a t-shirt, medal, and a beer. The race has partnered with Topsy Turvy, a Lake Geneva Brewery, and Go Brewing, a Naperville, Illinois, brewery that produces non-alcoholic beers. The festival area includes a variety of local vendors, as well as music and games.

Wolfe said that workout groups, corporate groups, and friends gather to form teams for the event. If contacted, the race can offer discounts to teams with eight or more participants. A lot of families also complete the event; there’s even a special “Little Yeti” course that’s designed for kids aged 4 to 8.

“We’ll have fun,” Abraham said. “We spent a full year planning a race that’s all about the racers, from having a safe but challenging course to having festival grounds that’s fun and exciting. “Just come out, spend the weekend with us, and have some fun.”

Learn more about the 2024 and future Abominable Snow Races at http://abominablesnowrace.com.

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